


Leap

by janiejanine



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 15:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1653587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janiejanine/pseuds/janiejanine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you're in a tight spot, sometimes you have to take things on faith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leap

**Author's Note:**

> A birthday gift for [Thunz](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunz).

The field was exploding.

The thuds Shepard and Garrus had heard as they made their way out of the building had sounded worryingly like artillery strikes. Turned out, they were exactly that, carpeting the ground with fiery craters.

They'd hoped to get in and out before anyone knew they were there. Cerberus had caught up to them, though, and they were willing to go to great lengths to stop them--including, apparently, bombing the shit out of their escape route.

Shepard slammed the door shut and tapped her comm. "Cortez, do you copy?"

"Sorry, ma'am. Had to bug out. I'm about half a klick away, on the other side of the ravine." Cortez's voice crackled with concern and static.

"Roger that," Shepard said. "Stay out of trouble. We'll come to you."

She turned to Garrus. He knew what she was thinking: mountains on three sides, no cover, no handy tunnels or back doors. Unless every aircraft in the sky suddenly ran out of fuel in the next three seconds, they only had one choice.

His mandibles twitched. Of all the things he could be doing on a sunny afternoon, running through an artillery bombardment ranked low on his list of favorites.

"Ready?" she asked. He nodded. She threw open the door and they took off at top speed, zig-zagging around the pits and ducking to avoid the sprays of dirt.

Sprint. Dodge. BOOM.

He kept Shepard in his peripheral vision. Judging by the way she kept perfect pace with him, she was doing the same thing. Ready to pick each other up, if one should stumble.

This wasn't the worst spot he'd ever been in, but it wasn't good. Every time they were thrust into a life-or-death situation--about every other day, give or take--the question hovered at the back of his mind: what if this was his last day? There was always a split second, between his boots hitting the dirt and falling into his familiar position at Shepard's six, when he suddenly thought, with the tiniest sense of panic,  _what the hell am I doing?_  Then his visor's HUD clicked on, the nerves vanished, and his concentration was set on the mission.

Most likely every soldier did that. It was easy to forget those moments, when a million anxious thoughts zipped through your brain instantaneously, once you were safely back on your ship. Thoughts like  _did I do enough?_  and _why didn't I say it?_

_What if this is my last day?_

He caught his foot in a rut and chided himself. Trying to philosophize while running for his life was probably a bad idea.

He made his way across the field, focusing all his attention on not getting blown up, with surprising success. Finally, they reached a rocky outcropping and stopped short.

The only thing separating them from their ride home was a wide chasm, too big to leap across, with a muddy river flowing along the bottom. It was impossible to tell what lay underneath the water. Sharp rocks? Sandbars?

Cortez had mentioned a ravine. Crap.

"It might be deep enough," Shepard said doubtfully.

"Do we have a choice?" A shell interrupted him, exploding so close he could feel the heat sear the side of his face. The ground rumbled and they both staggered.

Once they'd righted themselves, Shepard looked him in the eye. "Think we can make it?" she asked.

No more time to waste. If this was going to be his last moment...well, he could do worse.

"Only one way to find out," he replied.

He took her hand and jumped.


End file.
